Oppenheimer (2023) Review

"They won't fear it until they understand it,"

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Christopher Nolan is one of the biggest and most successful directors of our time, so the release of any of his movies is always highly anticipated. However, the hype around this movie was different for two reasons: it was releasing alongside Barbie, thus creating 'Barbenheimer' being the biggest film event of the summer, and it's Nolan's first ever movie based on a historical figure.

Nolan takes this well-known scientist, whose actions lead to huge developments in science with dangerous consequences, and not only explores his notable history but allows us an insight into his personal life too. The movie follows the journey of making the atomic bomb, and the aftermath. It explores in detail how Oppenheimer tries so hard to succeed, and is so blinded by his determination that he doesn't stop to consider how his success will damage the world, especially during the war, until he has to face the guilt of the lives he has taken with this weapon he helped create, and has to live with his regret afterwards. The movie works well to show how even though Oppenheimer felt remorse after his work was finished, he was not a good man: he was selfish, focused solely on his work and not considering the pain, trauma and death it would bring to so many, and became so intent on being successful that he neglected his personal life too, cheated on his wife and mistreated his family.

Because of Nolan's unique filming style, he has the ability to capture one's attention regardless of their interest on the genre or theme of the movie. Personally, I am not a fan of biographical historical-based films, but this movie captivated me by how it was created. The use of sound and music within in the film immerses you, and allows you to feel like it is happening in real time. Not only did this make the movie more interesting, but the lack of CGI, even for the bomb sequences, shows the dedication Nolan has to the art of film. Nolan himself stated how the use of practical effects for this movie made it feel more authentic, and knew that it would feel real to the audience, as he claims that CGI often feels 'safer' since it is computer-generated. This process has fascinated me the most when reading up on the making of Oppenheimer, because it truly shows the dedication Nolan has to filmmaking, and how important it is to him that the audience knows and feels the amount of effort he puts in. In addition to this, the use of colour in the film to show whether the perspective was from Oppenheimer himself (played by Cillian Murphy) or Lewis Strauss (played by Robert Downey Jr.) was such an interesting idea, and is something I wish more movies would do.

There is one scene in particular that I have often thought back to ever since watching this movie, which was the first successful test-run of the fully completed atomic bomb. Something about the way the bomb went off, followed by pure silence, everyone sitting in the theatre in awe, holding their breath and waiting for the loud explosion that we all knew was coming, gave me chills. Maybe it's to do with how we were all preparing ourselves for the loud noise, or how not many movies tend to reflect how actual bombs work, with the sound coming much later than the original explosion, but it truly was such a great scene, and I believe that it'll become an iconic scene when people think back to Nolan's movies.

Furthermore, the casting for this movie was amazing, and also large. There were so many surprise cameos from great actors such as Rami Malek, Josh Peck, Devon Bostick and David Dastmalcian, as well as the leading role played by Cillian Murphy, with specifically two spectacular supporting roles played by Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. These three actors worked amazingly together, and carried the roles with such brilliance and raw emotion, which was required for their characters and the lives they lived.

This movie, overall, was breathtaking and the more I read about how it was made the more I am fascinated by it. Nolan is a spectualar filmmaker, and all his movies do something new, unique and original. I would not be surprised one bit if Oppenheimer dominated the Oscars this year.